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α-Thalassemia has no association with asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum carriage in three ecological zones of Ghana
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  • Published: 18 February 2026

α-Thalassemia has no association with asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum carriage in three ecological zones of Ghana

  • Augustine Boakye Donkor1,
  • Frank George Bernasko1,
  • Anisa Abdulai1,
  • Nana Aba Sertowu Eyeson1,
  • Raphael Lartey Abban2,
  • Elaine Asiwome Boadu2,
  • Kwadwo Asamoah Kusi2,
  • Yaw Asare Afrane1 &
  • …
  • Linda Eva Amoah2 

Scientific Reports , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

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We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

Subjects

  • Diseases
  • Genetics
  • Microbiology

Abstract

α-thalassemia, a hereditary disorder, common in malaria-endemic regions, provides selective advantage by conferring partial protection against severe Plasmodium falciparum malaria. This study investigated the distribution of α-thalassemia genotypes and Plasmodium falciparum carriage among 1401 asymptomatic individuals aged 1–60 years, across Ghana’s coastal, forest, and Sahel savanna ecological zones. DNA was extracted from archived dried blood spots and genotyped for α-thalassemia using multiplex PCR, while malaria was detected through RDT, microscopy, and PCR. Participants from the forest zone had the highest malaria prevalence by PCR (36.5%) compared to those in the Sahel savannah zone (27.6%), and coastal zone (23.5%), p < 0.0001. In the coastal zone, 54.3% (482/887) of participants had the wild type genotype (αα/αα), 41.8% (371/887) were heterozygous carriers (-α/αα), and 3.8% (34/887) were homozygous recessive for α-thalassemia (-α/-α). In the forest zone participants had 66.0% (134/203) wild type, 30.5% (62/203) heterozygous, and 3.5% (7/203) homozygous individuals, while participants in Sahel savannah recorded 62.7% (195/311) wild type, 31.5% (98/311) heterozygous, and 5.8% (18/311) homozygous recessive genotypes. There were higher odds of having asexual parasites (Odds Ratio = 1.23) and an increased odds (Odds Ratio = 1.46) of gametocyte carriage in the homozygous recessive group compared to the wild type, p = 0.447 but there were no statistically significant association observed between α-thalassemia genotype and the presence of asexual P. falciparum stages.

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Data availability

The datasets generated and/or analysed during this study are available from the corresponding authors on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the participants for their cooperation and participation.

Funding

The authors were supported by grants from the West African Genetic Medicine Centre (WAGMC) of the University of Ghana and the National Institute of Health (D43 TW 011513). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Ghana Medical School, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana

    Augustine Boakye Donkor, Frank George Bernasko, Anisa Abdulai, Nana Aba Sertowu Eyeson & Yaw Asare Afrane

  2. Department of Immunology, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana

    Raphael Lartey Abban, Elaine Asiwome Boadu, Kwadwo Asamoah Kusi & Linda Eva Amoah

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  1. Augustine Boakye Donkor
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Contributions

ABD developed the study protocol with supervision and collaboration of YAA, LEA and KKA. EAB, AA, and ABD performed laboratory work. FGB, RLA, and NASE performed the data analysis. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Linda Eva Amoah.

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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethical approval

This study was approved by the Ethics Review Committee of the Ghana Health Service (GHS; GHS-ERC 021/07/23) and by the Ethical Protocol Review Committee of The College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana (EPRC-IRB 00006220). Before recruitment, informed consent was obtained from all participants or guardians. All methods were performed in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations.

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Donkor, A.B., Bernasko, F.G., Abdulai, A. et al. α-Thalassemia has no association with asymptomatic Plasmodium falciparum carriage in three ecological zones of Ghana. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-38080-y

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  • Received: 01 June 2025

  • Accepted: 28 January 2026

  • Published: 18 February 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-38080-y

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Keywords

  • α-Thalassemia
  • Plasmodium falciparum
  • Gametocyte carriage
  • Ecological zone
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